Visit to the Zoo
by Starsinger
Summary: The Pryde-Rasputin family visit the zoo.


**Visit to the Zoo**

by Starsinger

**With the exception of the X-Men characters, everyone, animals included, inhabit or inhabited the Fort Worth Zoo. This is dedicated to George, who passed away from a heart attack, and Brazos, who passed away more recently. Hope you enjoy. Don't own the fictional characters, and hope the real life ones don't mind that I used them.**

The sixteen foot behemoth had hauled himself out onto the concrete and looked impressive in his crocodilian glory. Peter, Kitty, the twins Ilyana and Moira, and Ilyana had ventured to the Fort Worth Zoo on the recommendation of friends and USA Today. They stood in the café adjoining the newest exhibit, the Museum of Living Art, instead of going to the front. It afforded them the best view of the Saltwater Crocodile that introduced people to the newest exhibit at the zoo.

"That's the croc that Steve Irwin was so passionate about?" Peter asked. Kitty nodded as two year old Moira propelled herself out of the stroller and across the space to the front of the exhibit. "What did that girl at the train depot recommend? See the animals and then take the train back?" Ilyana grinned at her older brother.

"That's what she said," Kitty replied. They're attention was immediately drawn to another crocodilian exhibit. Two crocodiles, one with a funny bump on its nose, were resting on the sand. The water, which held big fish and Terapin turtles, stood five feet tall. It was held back by only glass. Deadwood littered the water nearest the glass, giving the smaller fish places to hide. "Lovely exhibit, wouldn't want to be here if that glass malfunctioned," Kitty muttered with a laugh.

Ilyana made another grab for Moira while the family departed the café for the outside only to find themselves faced with a bronze statue of a giant land tortoise. The grown-ups finally gave up and let the twins climb all over the statue as Ilyana wandered over to a grassy exhibit in front of them. For half a second, Peter wondered why anyone would inhabit a place with large rocks, until one of them moved. He soon drew a correlation between the statue and the animals.

Yana took off to the doors as they proceeded into the exhibit. Lizards and amphibians abounded, many hard to find. "They only want you to think there's a chameleon in there," Kitty heard one lady say. "There's not actually one in there!" Laughter erupted from the woman next to her. The next exhibit to catch their attention held an 18 foot Burmese Python lying coiled on the ground. The snake looked big enough to swallow Peter!

Another innocuous looking snake lay on the ground. A beautiful greenish brown, the deceptive looking reptile was an impressive eleven feet. Kitty pointed to the placard on the exhibit and Peter took a step back. The snake was a King Cobra. Not even the Green Mamba had given the big guy pause.

As they reached the middle of the exhibit they were encouraged to go back outside. Scarlet Ibexes walked around their exhibit, easily seen through a window. A loud, raucous call greeted them as they left the building for a large, circular area. The center of which held a perch holding three different species of the loud birds known as Macaws. Ilyana's eyes were drawn to a tiny monkey in a large cage scampering around some tree branches. The monkeys were a beautiful golden brown and looked down at the humans with curiosity. "Lion Maned Tamarins," Ilyana announced. "They are so little!" Circling around the Macaws they took in a small stream which held ducks and a strange bird they couldn't identify. Suddenly, bushes in another area rustled as a Ring-Tailed Lemur leaped out of the bushes surprising everyone. Moira laughed and clapped as they continued to chase each other over the small place.

Peter scooped them both up as the returned to the interior of the building and to a demonstration area where keepers brought out two snakes. "Gently," he whispered to the girls as the stretched out tiny hands to touch the shy reptile, who was trying to get back to his keeper. The keeper identified the yellow snake as a Mexican Rat Snake, and the skin was much softer than Kitty thought it would be. They continued through the exhibit with funny looking sting rays and a rainforest filled with fish and turtles. The MOLA ended in a statue of a Komodo Dragon, that again had the twins climbing and having their pictures taken. Kitty smiled and turned to her left only to be faced by the real dragon.

Peter turned to where Kitty had turned to where Kitty was looking and grinned as Ilyana commented, "Good thing we didn't bring the dragon!"

Yana squealed, "Lockheed!"

"Not quite," Kitty said with a laugh. They turned back to the right back on the main path only to confront a tiny white butterfly. "Ever notice that birds fly in a straight line, but butterflies would never pass a field sobriety test?" Kitty asked as the small insect made its crazy flight path away from them. Ilyana snickered as they came across flamingos who were in various stages of turning pink. Two keepers were knee deep in water with three completely grey balls of fluff. They were making lots of noise.

"All these flamingos were born in the last two and a half years," she heard one of the keepers informed one of the guests. They headed back down the path toward the front and headed into the Ape House. The first thing they saw was a species of Ape resembling the Chimpanzee called the Bonobos. The tiny infant hanging onto her mother caught Kitty's breath. The species was very endangered. They heard a waterfall and looked to their left. A large mountain seemed to rise up out of the center of the building. A large Silverback Mountain Gorilla lay sprawled on the ground asleep, a smaller female nearby.

Outside, they found the outside Gorilla exhibit. One looked like he had wedged himself upside down, with his feet in the upper corner, and head in the lower opposite corner, of an alcove. One of several that dotted the area. A waterfall created a water source nearby, just beyond it sat another Gorilla in another alcove that created an up close and personal look at the large apes. The ape turned at look at Peter who had knelt in front of the glass separating them. Kitty caught her breath at how…human the animal looked.

They wandered past the Gorillas and to a ramp between the ape house and a stand that rented strollers/wheelchairs/scooters to find more apes: Chimpanzees and Orangatans. They also found some Mandrills and Spider Monkeys only to turn a corner and find a sign indicating Cheetahs. They walked over to find three large cats lounging in the shade. "I wondered how much like our Ivanova they really are," Illyana said with a laugh. Peter and Kitty grinned as they continued on down and down some stairs, stroller and all, to the African Plains. Rhinos, Meerkats, Giraffes, and Hippos oh my!

Peter started laughing as a large white bird came over and honked at him. He answered Kitty's unspoken question, "That's a Whooper Swan. Among other places, they're native to Siberia!" They deposited a quarter into a fish feeder and helped the twins throw it into the pond so the large Koi could come eat it. The ducks seem to swarm around it as much as the fish. The largest animals there were six Asian Elephants. Two were playing with balls while others were playing in a pool at the back of the exhibit. One appeared to be playing with the water coming out of the spout above the pool, but not far enough to be out of reach of the trunk.

The small family moved up a ramp and found themselves looking down on two Rhinos lying in large pools of water, doing nothing. "Too hot to do anything," Peter mumbled. The eighty plus temperature and sixty percent humidity had him sweating buckets. Ilyana soon found a vendor selling battery powered fans that sprayed water. He bought four and started spraying the twins with the cold water causing them to giggle. They passed birds of paradise and love birds on their way. They rounded a corner and looked around a rocky exhibit with a large waterfall and stream making its way through the middle of it and the adjoining exhibit.

Kitty peered around, unsure as to what she should be seeing when a large white furry head popped up over one of the ledges to survey the people trying to find him. "White Wolf!" Peter exclaimed.

Kitty laughed, "That's hardly a wolf." The White Siberian Tiger picked up a paw and proceeded to lick it clean. They glanced down to find another tiger sprawled on the ground. The animal was huge. They wandered to the next exhibit to find a more traditionally colored Tiger pacing around the exhibit. A Sun Bear in the next one appeared to be worshipping the sun with all four paws sticking straight out. Another turn lead them to a lioness and three cubs. The large female seemed nonchalant about her half grown offspring until one of them clumsily ran over her and another sibling. Roaring greeted them as a male lion greeted them at the next exhibit.

"Does anyone else find the placement of the lions and zebras funny?" Ilyana asked. Kitty turned from the large, lazy cat to find two zebras and a warthog below them. They walked on encountering Mountain Goats another Macaw. As they passed by, the bird proved as noisy as his friends at the MOLA. They found themselves facing a large cage filled with Parakeets. A sign on the side invited everyone to come in and feed the budgies. Kitty got wonderful pictures of Peter holding the twins in both arms while they held out sticks. They even managed to coax two very hungry birds onto the sticks and held very still while the little birds poked at the sticks. Ilyana stuck her tongue out at Kitty as the camera turned on her, the cup of seed in her hand, and the budgie who dove head first into the aforementioned cup.

They soon passed another sign announcing "Raptor Canyon". They looked all around at fence that surrounded them, like at the bottom of a canyon. They saw two Andorean Condors, Large Eagles, and glancing up, the huge shape of a Harpy Eagle, peering down at them. All the birds were birds of prey, and looked like they could carry the twins off without any difficulty.

They passed a large climbing apparatus that pretty much looked like a wall. Kitty and Ilyana considered trying to climb it. They entered a gate and went past what looked like a giant sandbox. The next area they entered an aquarium that held fish from the Great Barrier Reef. In fact, two medium sized Black Tipped Reef Sharks. The next area held kangaroos and wallabies. All seemed to do nothing more than lounge around. One got up and hopped over earning giggles and clapping from both the twins. The statue of a kangaroo earned more pictures as the twins swarmed all over it. The laughing sound of the Kookaburros greeted them as they passed more cages, mostly of small and exotic birds.

The last building they entered on the upper path housed Rockhopper and African Black-Footed Penguins. The Black-Footed Penguins were also known as the "Jack-Ass Penguins" because the braying sound they made sounded like a, well, a donkey. Unfortunately, the path ended in a black chain-link fence proclaiming the coming of an education/recreation area. They doubled back and found the stroller ramp just in front of the gate leading to the Great Barrier Reef.

As the young family continued up the path storks and cranes proclaimed their presence to all who were interested. A hot dog stand stood on the left. They heard the train as it passed them on the left on its journey back and forth between the two stations. The sign above the gates announced "Texas Wild!" They found the second depot on the left and the carousel on the right. They had purchased four tickets for the carousel down at the front and proceeded to give the attendant the tickets. Peter massive frame meant that he couldn't ride the horses, riders over 220 lbs had to stand or sit on the sleigh or wagon. He stood between the twins, taking pictures as Kitty and Ilyana climbed on the horses behind Peter and the twins. Many pictures were taken of everyone, including the red-shirted attendant, as the three-minute ride went on. The nice lady wished them a pleasant day and an enjoyable visit. They soon encountered a restroom which they took full advantage of.

A play area for little children afforded the adults the opportunity to sit down and rest as the girls ran around without their shoes and explored milking cows, cardboard animals that made noise, and a chicken coop they managed to climb and come down a slide. Their next stop had two shows that had a crazy cowboy and his three legged horse, a Swift-Fox named Swifty, and a Green Jay named Gabby. The second show rained on them, cooling them off. They played games and explored the back part of the building only to come out the back and find a café. Peter's stomach grumbled as they headed into the eatery.

Ilyana got a cheeseburger and fries, Kitty a salad, the twins split a small pepperoni pizza, and Peter wolfed down a barbecue plate that included turkey, green beans, mac and cheese, and a peach cobbler. The drinks did not include lids or straws, but the sign said that was for the safety of the animals. The café resembled a rustic log cabin on the inside, with western scene around the ceiling and a fireplace toward the back.

The last exhibits showed Texas animals. Turkeys and deer were in the first. Mexican Red Wolves greeted them with wagging tails. A large alligator sat in the water while a pair of snapping turtles hid among the tree roots nearby. River otters played in the water nearby, allowing everyone a good view of her playful nature. A black bear lumbered through a spacious outdoor arena. The gulf coast came into view as everyone got a chance to touch several sea creatures, including a sea urchin, after washing their hands. Spoon-Billed Storks and Seagulls squawked at them as they moved through. A Bald Eagle watched as they passed. Two Mountain Lions and the rare Jaguar appeared to slumber nearby. The last exhibit was another building. It held snakes, bugs, lizards, salamanders, and bats. The bats rhythms had been reversed and they flew and dove around inside the glass as they watched. The final show at the end was about Texas and the love of the land. Kitty found it quite moving.

They proceeded back to the depot and waited for the train, admiring the Longhorn and two Paint Horses in the pastures nearby. They boarded the long yellow train, folding up the stroller so it would be easier to get on the train. As they waited they heard the oddest conversation, "Brazos, you cotton pickin' horse, I'm gonna get you." They watched in amazement as the driver stormed off and the conductor laughed so hard she looked like she was going to hurt herself.

"What happened?" Peter asked.

The conductor, whose name was Amanda, announced, "One of the horses stole Pat's radio. We can't leave until we get one of the Keepers to get it back." Laughter greeted her reply as a large man in Khaki climbed over the fence into the horse pasture.

"Don't worry, Pat. He does this to us all the time," the keeper reassured the older woman. The trip back to the front was uneventful. They left with souvenirs and many memories.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Unka Logan! Unka Logan!" the twins yelled as they entered the mansion. Logan scooped them up and felt their kisses as they crowned him with what seemed to be a hat. They ran up the stairs as he reached up and got his first glimpse of the hat. It had an elephant sticking out of the front of it.

"Well, I wondered what animal you'd end up with!" Kitty said, looking very tired. "I just wish I had that much energy."

"An elephant? Well, at least I wasn't a donkey!" he muttered as he returned to the stairs. Kitty and Peter looked at each other. It had been a good trip.

**Please R&R.**


End file.
